this is bbc news. the headlines at two: germany says its terrorism threat remains high, despite the killing of the main suspect in the berlin lorry attack. anis amri, who is a tunisian national, was killed in the early hours of the morning. an italian officer was injured. translation: there is no doubt that the person who was killed is anis amri, the suspect of the terrorist attack in berlin. we will be live in berlin shortly. the german chancellor angela merkel is due to speak to the press soon. passengers are being released from a libyan passenger plane was hijacked and forced to land in malta. this is the scene live at valletta international airport. it is believed that two hijackers on board have hand grenades. two uk men are convicted of using

syria aid convoys to funnel money to extremists in wars is. and delays are expected on the roads and railways as the christmas getaway gets under way. on one of the busiest days of the year for the rail and road network, significant disruption is expected for those travelling over the christmas period. storm barbara has started crossing scotland, causing power cuts, school closures and difficult travelling conditions. and coming up in half an hour, we celebrate the lives of those who left us this year, including muhammad ali, in review in review 2016: we remember, part one. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

german officials have warned that the threat of terrorism in their country is still high despite the death of anis amri, the tunisian suspected of the berlin lorry attack. amri was shot dead in milan after opening fire on a police officer who asked him for id during a routine patrol. one police officer was shot and injured. the other then killed the suspect. the italian authorities say the fingerprint of the dead man match those found on the dead man match those found on the glory that smashed into a christmas market on monday, killing 12 people. the authorities are trying to find out whether a support network helped amri escape to italy. angela merkel is just talking to journalists. translation: my italian colleague, the prime minister, informed me this morning about a

police operation. during the night, the person search for, mr amri was killed after he had opened fire on a police patrol. i thanked the italian prime minister and i am reiterating my gratitude to the italian security forces, the italian police and the authorities for the very close cooperation. i particularly wish to the italian police officer a speedy and complete recovery. at this point, i also thank all international partners with whom our security forces have been working across borders and have continued to work together excellently. terrorism isa work together excellently. terrorism is a challenge for all of us, and it is a challenge for all of us, and it is good to know how well we work

together in europe and across europe and outside europe. everything points towards mr amri being the one who, on monday night, having killed 12 people on the christmas market in berlin and inflicted terrible injuries to many other people. the sympathy and mourning for everyone involved, dead as well as injured ones, goes far beyond germany. we feel the solidarity of our friends in the whole world, and i should know how much we mourn for their victims. this is something i have to say to the italians today, because u nfortu nately, say to the italians today, because unfortunately, a young italian lady was one of those who was killed in the attack on monday. i also think of the polish lorry driver, who as far as we know, was the first victim

on monday. and i think of all the otherfamilies of on monday. and i think of all the other families of victims for whom this christmas will be a christmas of deep sorrow. with the death of the suspect, the investigation has not stopped. it goes on. i visited the offices of the federal prosecution office here in berlin, who work around the clock to investigate the offence, analyse fingerprints and forensics as to who was supporting mr amri, who was planning his preparation, and if and when we find out about them, they will be prosecuted. islamist terrorism and its act ‘s challenge as time and again, and a challenge us as time and again, and a challenge us in new and unknown ways. the

federal government has changed its legislation and methods to face this threat. the case of mr amri also poses a number of questions not only related to the act, but also about the preparation ever since he arrived in germany in 2015. we will investigate how state measures need to be changed. i therefore ask the interior minister, thomas de maiziere, in conjunction with the authorities involved and also with the regional authorities, to investigate and analyse every aspect of the case of mr amri. and i have asked him to submit the results as speedily as possible. wherever there is the need for a political or legislative change, we will implement those changes in the

federal government speedily. today, i was talking by telephone with the tunisian president. we talked about all the relations between germany and tunisia. tunisia have intensified their efforts to fight terrorism. i am intensified their efforts to fight terrorism. iam pleased intensified their efforts to fight terrorism. i am pleased about that. also, as regards the deportation and repatriation of tunisian asylum seekers who do not have leave to stay in germany, we have also made progress with that. we need to accelerate the repatriations process and we need to increase the numbers repatriated. i told this to the president. ladies and gentlemen, at the end of this week we can be relieved that one acute threat has come to an end. but the threat posed by terrorism, the general threat is

something which will continue. we all know that. for me as well as the entire federal government, it is the highest responsibility of the state to make their citizens safe. in these times of major challenge, we do our utmost to make our state a strong state. to guarantee our safety, we need to work intensely, and that is something you can rely on. our democracy and our humanity are the counter design to the hatred of terrorism, and the former will prevail. thank you very much. studio: again, a strong statement from germany's chancellor angela merkel, not taking questions from journalists as we have seen at

previous news conferences since this berlin christmas market attack, but paying tribute to the italian authorities, as you might expect. amri was found by a 2—person police patrol in milan this morning and was shot dead. she paid tribute to the italian police and security services, reminding people that an italian lady was among the 12 victims of the berlin attack on monday. and among other things, she questioned who supported this man. whoever had been helping him will be prosecuted, angela merkel promised. she also said the attack had raised a lot of questions and that where there was a need for legislative change in germany, that would be put in place. there has been a lot of criticism of the german security agencies and their failure to prevent that attack and catch the perpetrator more quickly. but that is the latest from berlin. more now on the libyan plane that's

been hijacked and diverted to malta. more than 100 people were on board. over the last few hours, we have watched passengers being released. this is a flight that is now on the ground at the latter airport in malta. there were initially 111 passengers on board but in the last hour or so, 25 of them have been released. the picture has been somewhat confused, but there were reports that two of the hijackers had hand grenades and wanted to blow up the plane. with me now is our correspondent smitha mundasad. these are the first images we have seen of some of the crew members

being released. explain what we understand to be happening? we think in the last hour, the pictures we are seeing shown that most of the passengers have been released. there are about 100 passengers and seven crew members. some of those, we are now finally seeing being released. but some crew members are likely to still be on board and we haven't seen the hijackers yet. there is a big question hanging over this — what do the hijackers want? has there been a request and had it been met? we don't know. there are suggestions from local media reports that they could be proved a few supporters, but we can't confirm that. on the ground, their negotiators, paramedics and security forces, as you would expect, to try and control the situation. all of the flights from malta and to malta have been diverted or cancelled. for

the uk, that means two flights have been diverted from gatwick, one an easyj et been diverted from gatwick, one an easyjet flights and want a british airways flight that has been diverted to sicily. but there are still some any questions and this is still some any questions and this is still an ongoing situation. we do not yet know whether everyone is safe. and we don't know about the pilot. there are reports that he had talked to air traffic control and wa nted talked to air traffic control and wanted to try and land the plane in libya. that was refused by the hijackers. that is one of the reports we have seen on the reuters news agency. we don't know what went on that meant it ultimately ended up in malta. we don't know. the passengers and crew and pilot were expected to fly from south—west to be to the capital, tripoli. instead, we understand two hijackers, possibly with hand grenades, possibly with hand grenades, possibly threatening to blow the

plane up, did not allow that plane to land in libya, although the pilot did get in contact with air traffic control in the country. instead, he was diverted and forced to land in malta, some 300 miles away. let's put this into context. from what we understand in recent years, hijacks have got less serious than in the ‘805 have got less serious than in the ‘80s and most have ended peacefully. some experts say that most of the time, the motivation is a psychological one and it is often negotiated. we can hope that in this case, everyone will be safe, but we still don't know about the pilot and some of the crew members. still don't know about the pilot and some of the crew memberslj still don't know about the pilot and some of the crew members. i know you will keep an eye on that and get back to us as soon as we get confirmation that everyone is safe. that plane is still on the tarmac in malta. two men have been convicted of using aid convoys to supply funds to terrorists in syria.

the old bailey heard the high profile muslim community—led convoys became unwitting vehicles for the plan to fund terrorism. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani is at the old bailey. yes, this is quite a significant conviction here at the old bailey, not just because of conviction here at the old bailey, notjust because of the severity of the allegations, but also because it is the first official formal confirmation that the aid convoys that people rule a memberfrom confirmation that the aid convoys that people rule a member from 2013, some of them were exported and infiltrated byjihadists. this is a suspicion that was long held by intelligence chiefs and the verdict of thejury intelligence chiefs and the verdict of the jury today confirms that. about the story is a man called syed hoque, from stoke—on—trent. his nephew had gone to fight in syria in 2013. the two of them agreed that syed hoque would supply him with

cash. the nephew wanted to buy a weapon in syria to take part in the fighting. syed hoque joined weapon in syria to take part in the fighting. syed hoquejoined an aid convoy injuly fighting. syed hoquejoined an aid convoy in july 2013 fighting. syed hoquejoined an aid convoy injuly 2013 and took fighting. syed hoquejoined an aid convoy in july 2013 and took that cash with the aid convoy. it was a huge convoys and within that worth £3000 that he took for his nephew. after delivering the cash, he agreed to send an extra £1500 on the second convoy which went in december 2000 13. so these were serious allegations he faces and was convicted of today. commander dean hayden is the head of counterterrorism at scotland yard. this was what he had to say. counterterrorism at scotland yard. this was what he had to saylj welcome the court verdict today. what happened in this case undermined the genuine work done by members of the public to help those involved in the suffering in the syrian crisis. aid convoys were infiltrated and the goodwill of charities was abused by taking money and goods from the uk to syria to

help terrorists. that second tranche of cash which went out in december 2013 was taken with the help of a second man, mashoud miah from east london. he was convicted today of funding terrorism. a third man in the convoy, pervez rafiq, is a well—known charity worker from huddersfield who has raised thousands of pounds for good causes. he today was cleared of involvement. he today was cleared of involvement. he told the trial he had been devastated in december 2013 because another man on the convoy was alan henning, the taxi driver and a friend of pervez rafiq who was subsequently kidnapped and murdered by is fighters after going to syria as part of that convoy. pervez rafiq told the trial he had no idea of these allegations of infiltration by jihadists, and that he had no idea there were attempts to take equipment or cash to syria. the jury heard from him that he had spoken to mi5, heard from him that he had spoken to m15, who had asked him for his help

in identifying who the bad guys were. he walks out of court to be a free man, as did a fourth defendant. we are waiting to hear about sentencing for hoque. i suspect that will come in the new year. these are today's headlines: germany says its terrorist threat remains high, despite the killing of the main suspect in the berlin murray attack. most of the passengers have been released from a libyan passenger plane that was hijacked and forced to land in malta. and as we have just heard, two uk men have been convicted of using syrian aid convoys to funnel cash to terrorist fighters in war zones. in sport, sam allardyce travels to london to speak to crystal palace about becoming their new manager. palace about becoming their new manager. pa la ce wa nt about becoming their new manager. palace want the deal done in time for their next match on boxing day. oscar becomes the seventh most

expensive footballer in history after a £60 million move from chelsea to shanghai is agreed. and patch graduate of calls being able to move the fingers on her injured left hand the best christmas present she could have hoped for —— petra kvitova. she has left hospital following a knife attack during a burglary of her home. britain is braced for the arrival of storm barbara, which is expected to bring winds of up to 90mph to some parts of the country. the met office has issued severe weather warnings for much of the uk, with scotland expected to bear the brunt of the storm. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. storm barbara is barrelling in. the worst of the weather has yet to hit, but already conditions are difficult out at sea. ferries to many of the islands have been cancelled. for those who couldn't get home early

christmas travel plans are for now on hold. today, there's some services operating. they‘ re battling through. but the northern areas are definitely off. we are reviewing those services and will make announcements regarding tomorrow evening, and people may be able to travel, however we can't guarantee that. gusts reaching more than 70 miles an hour have already been recorded in the outer hebrides. some homes on the isle of lewis and south uist left without power. but the stormy conditions were forecast well ahead. extra generators have been shipped out and others, including farmers here, have taken precautions. i slept quite well until5am, when the winds started to hit. i spent all day yesterday preparing for it, moving livestock to sheltered areas and making sure everything was tied down so i don't lose anything. this christmas tree in dunoon is holding tight, for now!

while festive rides in edinburgh are off—limits because of high winds. storm barbara is an unwanted early gift. travelling may get more difficult as the gales increase, and those hoping to get away will be hoping the weather eases for long enough to get home for christmas, when more stormy weather is expected to sweep in once again. lorna gordon, bbc news. let's get the latest from our correspondent. i fear your clothing says it all. explain where you are and how it is? yes, the weather has just got significantly work worse in the couple of minutes i have been standing here. the rain has increased in intensity and the gusts have felt stronger. if you are looking behind me at this body of water, the firth of clyde, leading from the river clyde out of the

north channel between scotland and northern ireland, it doesn't look too rough at the moment, but that is just because this is a sheltered piece of water. i can assure you that further north along the west coast of scotland, there have been extreme conditions. gusts were recorded of 7a miles an hour on the western isles. on the other side of me, you can probably make out a very, storm bound at gourock and tied out. a lot of the services are off today, 19 out of 26 along the west coast of scotland. and there are all those travel robins we have heard about, trains and flights cancelled. some of these conditions are heading south this afternoon, even as far south as the south—west of england. there is a forecast of gusts between 50 and 60 miles an

hour and quite heavy rainfall as well. that will be for a limited duration, but the forecasters are saying it could cause significant disruption for a short time this afternoon. that could apply to large swathes of england in the west and in the north, not so much in the south and east. so while storm barbara may be moving over scotland and it might be feeling a bit better now, the force of it is moving south. thank you, james, and keep warm if you can. this return to the aftermath of the lorry attack in berlin on monday, which left 12 people dead. the suspect has been shot dead by police in milan. let's get more from our correspondent bethany bell, who is in berlin. we would just hearing

from angela merkel, the german chancellor, saying this attack raises a lot of questions. and there have been questions for german security forces about this attack and how they failed to prevent it and how they failed to prevent it and failed to catch the perpetrator afterwards. there are lots of questions and a number of more immediate questions as well. were their accomplices? how did he manage to leave germany? did people help him? was he part of a wider network? was he going to meet people in italy? he had spent four years in an italianjail, italy? he had spent four years in an italian jail, though did italy? he had spent four years in an italianjail, though did he have people he knew there? one interesting thing that is emerged over the last hour is a video released by so—called islamic state, showing anis amri swearing allegiance to the leader of so—called islamic state and vowing a crusade against people who kill muslims. the question now is, where

other people involved ? muslims. the question now is, where other people involved? that is what the authorities will be focusing on. and what is the mood there in the week of this dreadful attack? what are people saying and thinking as they try to get ready for christmas? first of all, there is relief that anis amri is no longer a threat. he was armed, as we saw. he shot at the italian police in the early hours of the morning. people here now realised the acute threat, in the words of chancellor merkel, is now gone. but of course, this is a very subdued place, particularly here in the christmas market where it happened on monday. you can see the candles and flowers behind me. but

they are also here to enjoy the market itself. there are people drinking mulled wine and eating sausages, buying things at the stalls in a demonstration, they say, that life will continue and they will not allow this to put them off. we also heard from angela merkel, saying she had spoken to the tunisian president, and she said her government wanted to speed up the deportation of failed asylum seekers, increased the number of asylu m seekers, increased the number of asylum seekers that are expelled. she says there is a lot to be done by the government in terms of tightening up security. indeed. it isa tightening up security. indeed. it is a complicated situation, deporting people. it requires documents like passports. it needs the country of origin to recognise that the person being deported is a

citizen of that country and can be returned there. then you have the question of whether you deport people back to the country they have come from originally or whether you deport them back to the first eu country they entered in. there are many complicated legal questions, some of which have to be dealt with in germany, some of which have to be dealt with on a european level and others which have to be dealt with by many countries in northern africa, and the countries of origin of the people who have been denied asylu m of the people who have been denied asylum in germany. thank you very much. let's talk to our security correspondent frank gardner. it is interesting that one of the things angela merkel said in a news conference was that key question, who was supporting amri? how did he get help and where from? yeah, there is this expression which has entered the lexicon of lone wolf attacker. it is very rarely accurate. there is

nearly always somebody helping somebody in some way. hardly any insta nces somebody in some way. hardly any instances of someone being com pletely instances of someone being completely on their own. for example, the lease attacker —— the nice attacker who drove the lorry to the promenade des anglais injuly, he was in contact with others for many months. there will be people who have provided accommodation, money, false documents and inspiration. it is highly unlikely that this man will have operated on his own. that is why the italian and german authorities are talking about an ongoing operation and why they are being quite cagey. ironically, so is islamic state. they don't want to completely show their hand. it may be that they have no direct connection with him. but more is going to come out about this case. is that why it took quite a few hours for the news to emerge that he

had been shot dead as well? is that because the authorities don't want to alert anyone that he might have been working with?|j to alert anyone that he might have been working with? i would think so. having challenged this guy, they needed to do the fingerprint analysis after he had been shot dead to make sure he was anis amri so that the minister could say without a shadow of a doubt that it was him. if it was somebody else, then it is not the same story. so they needed to make sure there was nobody waiting for him, that there wasn't a pick—up car. presumably if he had a phone left on him, they would analyse that, which also takes time. all of these things take time. there area big all of these things take time. there are a big questions that have been thrown up by this case. we don't have time to cover all the areas. but there is the whole business of surveillance in germany. germany has an understandable aversion to surveillance, partly because of the wartime past with fascism, but also because of the stasi in east

germany. they don't like cctv cameras. there are very strong privacy laws there. hence german newspapers, until the last minute, we re newspapers, until the last minute, were not able to show the full picture that you are seeing here of anis amri. his eyes were blacked out. and when they arrest somebody, the surname is usuallyjust an initial. there are other issues as well which people are talking about today, which is that of schengen, the passport free, borderless europe, a wonderful idea in theory. u nfortu nately, europe, a wonderful idea in theory. unfortunately, it is being exploited by terrorists and people trying to bring weapons in. we have already seen this with the bataclan attacks. they were planned from brussels and executed in paris last november. so the fact that this man was able to cross easily, three countries, from germany to france from france to the italian border and then to turin and then to milan. but on the other hand,it then to milan. but on the other hand, it was extremely good european eu cooperation and police work, and it shows that it worked. germany,

italy and tunisia were talking to each other, belatedly getting this right. so much more we could discuss, but we will talk more later. now the latest weather forecast. it's all kicking off. stormy conditions for some, wet and windy for many of us. we have two named storms in this forecast. for most of us storms in this forecast. for most of us it won't be that severe. if you're underneath this rain, it is feeling pretty severe right now. some intense downpours and gusty winds. meanwhile the wind strengthens further across the far north of scotland. the core of barbara's wind hitting them. be prepared for disruption across this corner of the uk. blowing a gale into the night across